Len Bromley 1929 - 1999

by Gordon Winterton

 

To the world outside the Green Wyvern, Leonard Bromley, QC and circuit judge in Cambridge; but to his contemporaries on the river . . . just Len, a lifelong, almost, member of the club, who joined us at the onset and remained with us to the end.

           
He was educated at the City Boys School, Leicester, and Cambridge, and met us via Cecil Howard who was a master at the school.. I knew him in the early fifties when he sailed in Golden Moon  and with me in HornetI.
On the latter occasion Valerie and I had to leave him in charge whilst we attended a wedding in Leicester. We returned late at night to find the boat safely at her mooring with Len preparing a hot meal for us: care and attention to detail, then and always a mark of Len’s thoughtfulness and consideration for others.
We didn’t see him all that much when he was becoming notable in his profession but he was still interested in sailing and took part in ocean racing including the Fastnet. He reappeared when the members owning Wyvern wished to buy Sparklet.  So Wyvern became Ariel and the Bromley family regular visitors to Somerleyton and the river. Nothing flashy you understand . . . just cruising gently, watching birds, and drinking (modestly) Adnams.
We remain indebted to him for his loyalty to the club and his advice and help. Whenever a question of responsibility and insurance arose, the reaction was always 'Ask Len'. He was always there to add gravitas to the discussion; his advice always thoughtful and generously given.
We shall miss Len and as we recall his years with us, we tender our condolences to Anne and his broad extended family who will miss him as we do. Len was a gentleman in the real sense of the word.

 

EGW
1999